Nutrition during early mammalian development permanently influences health of the adult, including increasing the risk of type 2 diabetes and coronary heart disease. However, the molecular mechanisms ...underlying such programming are poorly defined. Here we demonstrate that programmed changes in miRNA expression link early-life nutrition to long-term health. Specifically, we show that miR-483-3p is upregulated in adipose tissue from low-birth-weight adult humans and prediabetic adult rats exposed to suboptimal nutrition in early life. We demonstrate that manipulation of miR-483-3p levels in vitro substantially modulates the capacity of adipocytes to differentiate and store lipids. We show that some of these effects are mediated by translational repression of growth/differentiation factor-3, a target of miR-483-3p. We propose that increased miR-483-3p expression in vivo, programmed by early-life nutrition, limits storage of lipids in adipose tissue, causing lipotoxicity and insulin resistance and thus increasing susceptibility to metabolic disease.
A new diagnostic category, hoarding disorder (HD), has been proposed for inclusion in DSM-5. This study field-tested the validity, reliability and perceived acceptability of the proposed diagnostic ...criteria for HD. Method Fifty unselected individuals with prominent hoarding behavior and 20 unselected, self-defined 'collectors' participated in thorough psychiatric assessments, involving home visits whenever possible. A semi-structured interview based on the proposed diagnostic criteria for HD was administered and scored by two independent raters. 'True' diagnoses were made by consensus according to the best-estimate diagnosis procedure. The percentage of true positive HD cases (sensitivity) and true negative HD cases (specificity) was calculated, along with inter-rater reliability for the diagnosis and each criterion. Participants were asked about their perceptions of the acceptability, utility and stigma associated with the new diagnosis.
Twenty-nine (58%) of the hoarding individuals and none of the collectors fulfilled diagnostic criteria for HD. The sensitivity, specificity and inter-rater reliability of the diagnosis, and of each individual criterion and the specifiers, were excellent. Most participants with HD (96%) felt that creating a new disorder would be very or somewhat acceptable, useful (96%) and not too stigmatizing (59%).
The proposed HD criteria are valid, reliable and perceived as acceptable and useful by the sufferers. Crucially, they seem to be sufficiently conservative and unlikely to overpathologize normative behavior. Minor changes in the wording of the criteria are suggested.
•Investigated in ovo creatine monohydrate in eggs from young broiler breeder hens.•To determine if in ovo supplementation improves early chick activity and pen use.•In ovo creatine monohydrate did ...not change the time spent active or inactive.•Chicks given in ovo creatine monohydrate spent less time near the pen heat lamp.•In ovo creatine monohydrate may improve chick energy stores and temperature resilience.
First−week survival and egg hatchability are lower in chicks from younger broiler breeder hen flocks. Creatine is a naturally occurring compound synthesised from the amino acid arginine or obtained from the diet and is important in the storage and transport of energy. Previous research found an improvement in the hatch rate but no posthatch performance improvements when fertile eggs from young breeder hens were injected with creatine monohydrate (CrM) on embryonic day 14. This pilot study aimed to further investigate the possibility of early posthatch improvements by examining the activity of chicks during the 1st week posthatch. Behaviours were broadly classified as active or inactive, the pen was split into three areas, and the amount of time spent in the heat lamp, feed hopper, or drinker line areas was recorded. Chicks given in ovo CrM spent less time in the heat lamp area over the whole 7 days compared to saline (t = 2.352, P = 0.021) and control groups (t = 3.336, P = 0.003) and more time in the feed hopper area during the first 4 days compared to the control group (t = 2.174, P = 0.033). This finding suggests that creatine may improve energy reserves in young chicks allowing them to spend more time away from the heat lamp.
A series of amino-functionalized MIL-53 with different metals as nodes has been synthesized. By determining adsorption properties and spectroscopic characterization, we unequivocally show that the ...interaction between the amines of the organic linker and bridging μ2-OH of the inorganic scaffold modulates metal organic framework (MOF) flexibility. The strength of the interaction has been found to correlate with the electropositivity of the metal.
Gastrointestinal cancers represent one of the most prevalent diseases worldwide. Strikingly, the incidence of Early Onset Gastrointestinal Cancer (EOGIC) has been rising during the last decades and ...changes in lifestyle and environmental exposure seem to play a role. EOGIC has been defined as a different entity compared to on-average gastrointestinal cancer, with distinct clinical and molecular characteristics. Inherent to the particularities of younger age, there is an unmet need for a tailored approach for the management of these patients. The TEOGIC proposes a comprehensive study to characterize EOGIC patients in the northern of Spain.
Patients with histologically confirmed new diagnosis of colorectal, gastroesophageal and pancreatic adenocarcinoma will be considered for two cohorts: EOGIC (≤ 50 years old) and non-EOGIC (60-75 years old), with a ratio of 1:2. Two hundred and forty patients will be recruited in 4 Public Hospitals from northern Spain. After receiving unified informed consent, demographic and clinical data of the patients will be collected in a REDCap database. Lifestyle related data will be obtained in questionnaires assessing diet, physical activity and the general quality of life of the patients before diagnosis. Biological samples prior to any onco-specific treatment will be obtained for the analyses of circulating inflammatory proteins, gut microbiota, and the proteome of the tumor microenvironment. Histologic characteristics and routine biomarkers will be also collected. Thereafter, data will be integrated and analyzed to assess tumor specific, pan-tumor and sex-associated differential characteristics of EOGIC.
The underlying risk factors and differential characteristics of EOGIC remain poorly studied, particularly in our geographical area. Although limited by the exploratory nature and the small sample size estimated to be recruited, TEOGIC represents the first attempt to comprehensively characterize these young patients, and thus attend to their special needs. Findings derived from this study could contribute to raise awareness and preventive behaviors in the population. In parallel, molecular studies could lead to the identification of potential novel non-invasive biomarkers and therapeutic targets that would help in the development of the tailored clinical management of these patients, focusing on screening programs for early diagnosis and precision medicine.
Aim
The aim of the study was to describe age‐ and sex‐specific prevalence of serious bacterial infections (SBI: urinary tract infection, bacteraemia, meningitis) among febrile infants ≤60 days in ...Sweden.
Methods
This is a retrospective study in 4 Pediatric Emergency Departments from 2014 to 2017, in previously healthy, full‐term infants ≤60 days with fever without a source.
Results
Of the 1,701 included infants, 214 (12.6%; 95% CI, 11.1–14.3) had an SBI. Urinary tract infection (UTI) was diagnosed in 196 (11.5%; 95% CI, 10.0–13.1) patients. In the ≤28 and 29–60 days age‐groups, meningitis prevalence was 0.9% (95% CI, 0.3–2.0) and 0.3% (95% CI, 0.1–0.8), whereas bacteraemia prevalence was 3.2% (95% CI, 1.9–4.9) and 0.6% (95% CI, 0.2–1.3). The SBI prevalence was higher in boys 16.0% (95% CI, 13.8–18.5) than girls 8.0% (95% CI, 6.2–10.2; p<0.001), due to 2‐fold higher UTI risk. The prevalence of meningitis in boys was 0.3% (95% CI, 0.1– 0.9) vs. 0.7% (95% CI, 0.2–1.6) in girls and of bacteraemia 1.8% (95% CI, 1.0–2.8) vs. 1.0% (95% CI, 0.4–2.0), respectively.
Conclusions
The total SBI prevalence was 12.6%, and UTI represented the vast majority. The prevalence of bacteraemia and meningitis was low, particularly in the 29–60 days age group, without significant difference between boys and girls.
Most experimental additions of nitrogen to forest ecosystems apply the N to the forest floor, bypassing important processes taking place in the canopy, including canopy retention of N and/or ...conversion of N from one form to another. To quantify these processes, we carried out a large-scale experiment and determined the fate of nitrogen applied directly to a mature coniferous forest canopy in central Maine (18-20 kg N ha-¹ y-¹ as NH₄NO₃ applied as a mist using a helicopter). In 2003 and 2004 we measured NO₃ -, NH₄ ⁺, and total dissolved N (TDN) in canopy throughfall (TF) and stemflow (SF) events after each of two growing season applications. Dissolved organic N (DON) was greater than 80% of the TDN under ambient inputs; however NO₃ - accounted for more than 50% of TF N in the treated plots, followed by NH₄ ⁺ (35%) and DON (15%). Although NO₃ - was slightly more efficiently retained by the canopy under ambient inputs, canopy retention of NH₄ ⁺as a percent of inputs increased markedly under fertilization. Recovery of less than 30% of the fertilizer N in TF suggested that the forest canopy retained more than 70% of the applied N (>80% when corrected for N which bypassed tree surfaces at the time of fertilizer addition). Results from plots receiving ¹⁵N enriched NO₃ - and NH₄ ⁺ confirmed bulk N estimations that more NO₃ - than NH₄ ⁺ was washed from the canopy by wet deposition. The isotope data did not show evidence of canopy nitrification, as has been reported in other spruce forests receiving much higher N inputs. Conversions of fertilizer-N to DON were observed in TF for both ¹⁵NH₄ ⁺ and ¹⁵NO₃ - additions, and occurred within days of the application. Subsequent rain events were not significantly enriched in ¹⁵N, suggesting that canopy DON formation was a rapid process related to recent N inputs to the canopy. We speculate that DON may arise from lichen and/or microbial N cycling rather than assimilation and re-release by tree tissues in this forest. Canopy retention of experimentally added N may meet and exceed calculated annual forest tree demand, although we do not know what fraction of retained N was actually physiologically assimilated by the plants. The observed retention and transformation of DIN within the canopy demonstrate that the fate and ecosystem consequences of N inputs from atmospheric deposition are likely influenced by forest canopy processes, which should be considered in N addition studies.
We describe artificial neural networks used to predict the velocity and frequency of ground vibrations caused by blasting in an open-pit mine. The aim was to predict peak particle velocity and ...frequency of ground vibrations from information on the physical and mechanical properties of the rock mass, the characteristics of the explosive and blasting design. Some the parameters that could possibly have a bearing on the prediction were considered. A distinction was drawn between two kinds of parameters: those defining the surroundings in which the wave is propagated (rock type, rock mass, distance to be covered by the wave and significant subsoil discontinuities) and those defining the energy of the wave (the kind of explosive, explosive charge and blasting geometry and sequence).
Vibrations were monitored using seismographs capable of capturing vibration data and transforming them into acceleration and frequency terms. To validate this methodology, the predictions obtained were compared with those obtained using conventional statistical methods. The correlation coefficients obtained for our methodology was 0.98 for peak particle velocity and 0.95 for frequency, compared to 0.50 and 0.15, respectively, for Multiple Linear Regression.
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